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Michael Orbach

Michael Orbach is the Senior New York Correspondent for JewishPress.com. His work has appeared in the JTA, The Forward, The Jewish Week and Tablet. He was previously the editor-in-chief of the Jewish Star newspaper in Long Island. He is finishing up a novel.

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NY / News Briefs

US Haredi Group Facing Uphill Battle Making Up for Poor Secular Education

By Michael Orbach

“Fourteen hours a day in yeshiva but [a student] doesn’t learn a single word of English, math, history, science, geography, music art, nothing, nothing, nothing.”

Israel / News Briefs

Study Shows Haredi and Secular Women Face Equal Risk of Eating Disorders

By Michael Orbach

A high-number of Haredi women responded to the survey. Haredi women suffering from eating issues also face a particular set of challenges.

US

Southern Comfort for Orthodox and Reform Campers on the Fourth

By Michael Orbach

When a Reform summer camp in Mississippi invited an Orthodox summer camp for a Fourth of July celebration, the get-together became national Jewish news. The onslaught of publicity caught both camps off-guard. One camp director explained that in the deep South, Jewish camps offers a place where Jewish campers “get to be in the majority instead of the minority.”

NY / News Briefs

Brooklyn DA Blames Israel for Mondrowitz Scandal

By Michael Orbach

If there’s any story inside the Jewish community that closely parallels the sexual abuse cover-up inside the Catholic Church, it’s the story of Avrohom Mondrowitz.

Photo of the Day

Talmud Underground

By Michael Orbach

An Ultra-Orthodox man reading the Talmud on the subway from Underground NY Public Library. The photo blog is a project of acclaimed street photographer, Ourit Ben-Haim. In an interview, Ben-Haim said that when she takes a photograph of someone reading she sees "people who are contemplating description of new possibilities. In this way, every book […]

NY

Hey, Look, Ma, It's an Anti-Semitic, Mentally-Deranged Elmo!

By Michael Orbach

Jews are the least of Elmo's problems. Four days after a man dressed in an Elmo suit was forcibly ejected from Central Park for spewing anti-Semitic propaganda, an article revealed his frightening past. “I hate those [women],” he told a news reporter in 1999.

Politics / News Briefs

Anti-Israel, 'Amsterdam News' Favorite, Charles Barron Loses Vote

By Michael Orbach

It looks like someone went up to Charles Barron and slapped him. The former member of the City Council and the Black Panther party was handily defeated by Hakeem Jeffries for the newly redrawn 8th Congressional District. The new district is mainly African-American, with a significant percentage of Russian Jews and Hispanics. Jeffries won in a landslide with more than half the precincts reporting, taking 75 percent of the vote.

Jewish / News Briefs / Media

Andy Statman: Klezmer Is Finished

By Michael Orbach

Andy Statman says the time of Klezmer has passed. Having just received the NEA National Heritage Fellowship in June for his work in bluegrass and Klezmer music, Statman admits Klezmer used to be his substitute for Jewish observance. Now that he is an Orthodox Jew, he no longer feels the need to play the music.

Politics / Media

GOP Chasidic PR Man Quits over Views on Israel, Reporting Abuse

By Michael Orbach

During a lengthy and heated interview with the Jewish Channel, Yossi Gestetner was quizzed about some of his past work for a tiny anti-Zionistic organization in Brooklyn. He also defended New Square arsonist Shaul Spitzer and was a spokesperson for a rally to benefit Nechemya Weberman, who is currently on trial for molestation.

NY / News Briefs

Kosher Delight Has Slung Its Last Burger

By Michael Orbach

Since opening in 1984, the restaurant has been a fixture for any Jewish tourists visiting New York and almost every religious Jew in the city has eaten there at least once. The reason for closing appears to be a combination of landlord greed and too many health code violations.

NY

As NYC Jewish Population Grows, Haredim Deny Abusing the Safety Net

By Michael Orbach

According to a survey of 5,993 individuals conducted by the UJA Federation, the Jewish community in New York City is growing, mainly fueled by an increase in the Orthodox and Chasidic community. The downside is, according to their critics, Welfare is a crucial ingredient in these communities.

News Briefs / Religion

Lakewood Girls School under Attack for Controversial Letter on Modesty

By Michael Orbach

The Lakewood, NJ, Bnos Yaakov elementary school is not happy over the fact that an internal letter to its students has been published online. It contains a story with a disturbing notion of purgatory for girls who don't obey the laws of tzniyut (modesty).

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